Since we are in the subject, can someone explain why squats are one of the best workouts out there?

1. It involves the largest amount of muscles, and the largest muscles in terms of size in the whole body.
>It makes sense that the large muscles in your body are what's required for functional strength (and endurance), hence training them the most will have the greatest effect on functional strength.
>if mass gain is your goal, it makes sense to train the large muscles too.

2. It recruits the muscles down from your lower back, ass and hamstrings. I think these + smaller surrounding muscles are what's known as the Posterior Chain. The movement also involves the core muscles, so it sets you up for good posture, and again, functional strength. The strength added to your core and posterior chain helps with other lifts.

3. It takes a little bit of practice, but overall it's a fairly natural movement, which means again functional strength, but also good proportions in building. i know you would've seen those guys with massive thighs doing squats, but it's far easier to get a disproportionately large chest/arms/whatever because you can isolate to that muscle. Most guys who do squats are very well proportioned.

3. It takes a little bit of practice, but overall it's a fairly natural movement, which means again functional strength, but also good proportions in building. i know you would've seen those guys with massive thighs doing squats, but it's far easier to get a disproportionately large chest/arms/whatever because you can isolate to that muscle. Most guys who do squats are very well proportioned.

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I agree. I've seen plenty of big benchers/curlers who couldn't squat crap, but a big squater is usually a strong bastard overall. If you're willing to put in the work of heavy squats, you'll be rewarded with overall strength.

Thanks for the info. However, if I want to be more toned and cut overall, and not necessarily buff or get stronger or get bigger arms/thighs, is squats still ideal? Also, can you get the same benefits if I do squats without weights? It's just I am pretty happy with how my clothes fit but I could use some toning up with out bulking up too much, ie: getting bigger arms or thighs. Should I try and incorporate squats?

Thanks for the info. However, if I want to be more toned and cut overall, and not necessarily buff or get stronger or get bigger arms/thighs, is squats still ideal? Also, can you get the same benefits if I do squats without weights? It's just I am pretty happy with how my clothes fit but I could use some toning up with out bulking up too much, ie: getting bigger arms or thighs. Should I try and incorporate squats?

Edit: If you seriously only want to get more cut, don't bother with the gym. Diet + cardio. Keep in mind that there's no such thing as "muscle toning" per se. You can lose fat to make the muscle look toned. If you want to tone without bulking, the important thing is to watch what you eat. If you start lifting and eat the same amount that you do now, it's impossible for you to get bigger. You will definitely lose fat. I recommend that you work out to a simple 5x5 plan, and just monitor what you eat. Your muscles will get bigger, but you won't bulk up overall because you'll be losing fat, as long as you watch what you eat. If at a month in, you think you've gained a couple of millimetres too much in the thighs, you can stop, and just do light weights. The muscle gain is really not overnight. 5 by 5 means you use a weight for which you can do 5 repetitions, over 5 sets, with gaps of about 90 secs or longer between each set. I'm pretty confident you'll want to stick with a 5x5 programme after you've been doing it for a month. with perhaps a bit of cardio added in. Light weights are a waste of time IMO. May as well just be doing cardio. Bill Starr's 5x5 is good. there's others out there. they'll all pretty much the same and focus on: Squat Deadlift Benchpress Military Press

However, if I want to be more toned and cut overall, and not necessarily buff or get stronger or get bigger arms/thighs, is squats still ideal? Also, can you get the same benefits if I do squats without weights?

It's just I am pretty happy with how my clothes fit but I could use some toning up with out bulking up too much, ie: getting bigger arms or thighs. Should I try and incorporate squats?

Yes.

Squats, or a similar movement, are a staple of every great lifting program, IMO.

Thanks for the tips Hendrix, I'll definitely keep that in mind. Diet is probably the most difficult thing, just picking what to eat and not necessarily how much since I pretty much stay within the caloric intake my body needs.

I mostly do cardio now really (ie: P90X and Insanity but not every day) but I believe I have receive the wrong info that if I wanted to get toned, I can lift with more reps but less weight. I have been doing it for a while, maybe a year now and it really hasn't gotten me anywhere.

I am a bit lost because I am 5'9.5"-5'10" and my weight ranges from 135-140 lbs and I feel like I need to build more muscle but again without bulking up. I'm afraid if I do more extreme cardio/HIIT that I would just go down in weight even more. I'll give the 5x5 a shot.